1. Field
This disclosure relates to a front filter of a display device and constituent materials of the front filter.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The introduction of the multimedia age has spurred the need for display devices capable of achieving a higher resolution and larger size and representing colors more close to natural colors. Display device types include, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and a projection television (TV). Developments are being made to make display devices suitable for the display of high definition images.
Operation of display devices such as a PDP tends to produce electromagnetic waves that may be harmful to the human body. To shield the electromagnetic waves, a front filter may be provided at the front surface of a panel on which an image is displayed.
In the use of a PDP, if a gas discharge occurs in a discharge space between an upper panel and a lower panel, ultraviolet rays are generated by the gas discharge and introduced onto phosphors, thereby causing the phosphors to emit visible rays. With the visible rays, images can be displayed on a screen.
A glass type or film type front filter may be provided at the front surface of the PDP. The front filter consists of an electromagnetic-wave shielding film for shielding electromagnetic interference (EMI) and near infrared rays (NIR), a color compensating film, and an anti-reflection film for preventing the reflection of light introduced from the outside.
The electromagnetic-wave shielding film may include a conductive material deposited on a base film and having a mesh form. If necessary, the conductive material may be supported by a frame. The mesh shape of the conductive material is obtained by patterning the conductive material on the base film via a photolithography technique, an etching process, a sputtering method, or the like.
Patterning the conductive material to have a mesh form via a photolithography technique, etching process, or the like, may result in an excessive loss of materials and an increase in the number of processes to be performed, which may result in a complexity in manufacture.
In addition, fabricating the electromagnetic-wave shielding film by a sputtering method may result in a prolonged process time and a high resistance beyond an acceptable level. Also, if the firing temperature of the conductive material increases excessively, the properties of a substrate may be deteriorated.